


First Leaves

by kinosternon



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Birthday Fluff, College, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, I tried to hit "Natsume being warm" and "soft TanuNatsu" with this, M/M, Near Future, Tanuma PoV, Tanuma's birthday is September 17th, no beta (sorry), original youkai, secret santa fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28442475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kinosternon/pseuds/kinosternon
Summary: For Tanuma's twentieth birthday, Natsume takes him to a serendipitously timed youkai festival.
Relationships: Natsume Takashi & Tanuma Kaname, Natsume Takashi/Tanuma Kaname
Comments: 8
Kudos: 26





	First Leaves

**Author's Note:**

> This is a part of the 2020 Natsume Yuujinchou Secret Santa over on Tumblr. It's technically set in summer, not winter, but hopefully it works!

Kaname's twentieth birthday fell in his second year of college, and he thought he'd be spending it with his father, at home. 

He wasn't the only one who'd decided not to move away for college—Kitamoto had, too, and Taki came home regularly because she was the only one around to look after her house—but it was a busy time, and he lived pretty far away from the others. Natsume, however, had decided to live away from home, albeit not far. 

Kaname was certain it'd been the right choice. Natsume had wanted to study folklore, and Natori had had good recommendations for a place that struck a balance between having good information and connections without too much exorcist family entanglements. He'd also promised the Fuijiwaras that he'd look in on Natsume regularly at school. Judging by Natsume's complaining, his presence occasionally attracted more attention than Natsume would like, but Kaname could read between the lines well enough to know that his presence was usually welcome. 

Natsume had been so worried about the whole process that Kaname had been delighted for him when it had all worked out. The Fujiwara's had helped him find a place to stay where he wouldn't even have to smuggle Nyanko-sensei in. 

He hadn't even let himself consider that he would miss Natsume, not when he'd seemed so unsure and yet so painfully hopeful. But Natsume went, and Kaname missed him, and worried, because of course he did. It got easier after the first few months, though—after the first few weekends when Natsume came home and seemed fine, no new shadows dogging his footsteps or in his face as far as Kaname could see. 

(Not that he could see everything, but then, he never did. He believed in Natsume, though. They'd known each other for long enough that Kaname was willing to have faith that if Natsume needed help with something, or just a listening ear, he would reach out.) 

By the second year, he'd more or less adjusted to seeing Natsume in person only a few times a month. They weren't any less close; they messaged each other regularly, and Natsume had started to open up a little more about what, and how, he was doing. If anything, Kaname almost thought that they were closer than ever, and he thought made him happier than he knew how to deal with, some days. 

Summer break felt particularly long and luxurious that year, with Natsume home for almost a month and none of them with too much to do. Taki took a part-time job but was still around a lot; Kaname helped his father with Obon celebrations as much as he could, and Natsume came and took over when he ended up needing to take a few days recovering. According to Natsume, there was a spirit that had passed through in the area, quite powerful and unconcerned with hiding its presence; Kaname had to take his word for it. Natsume seemed worried at first, but it didn't take Kaname very long to figure out that the spirit itself didn't bother him; it was Kaname's weakness that had him concerned. 

It had rankled, at the time. He only got so much time during summer vacation, after all, and he was getting to an age where he should've been able to help his father during one of the temple's busier times of year. Still, everyone around him had been so _calm_ , as though this was normal and to be expected—and, well, it was, but that stung in its own way. He'd hoped that he would get stronger as he grew up, but sometimes the only way he could improve was by being mature enough to admit his limits quickly and with grace. 

Still, he recovered fast enough for festivals and fireworks with his high school friends near the end of Obon, and he ended up getting got his fair share of companionship and fun before the term started again. The summer's heat had started to wane, and before he knew it, his birthday was around the corner. 

It was purely a coincidence that he saw the first clue of what was coming, and that clue was so close to commonplace that he almost overlooked it entirely. It was a trundling, round body walking along the length of his fence one evening as if it had every right to be there. He hadn't even realized it was weird to see Ponta around until several seconds after he'd disappeared. 

He dashed outside, but by the time he rounded the corner of the house and came to the part of the fence where he'd seen Natsume's cat, he'd vanished. 

Kaname had stared, but there wasn't much to do except shrug to himself and message Natsume about it later. Natsume didn't have much to say except _Sensei mentioned some kind of party_ , and Kaname had accepted that explanation readily enough. He'd been a little concerned that Ponta had felt some need to be on patrol, and it _did_ worry him a little to think that he was so far away from his trouble-prone human, but...well, it was a nice little slice of the past, too, seeing him randomly like that. A tiny thing he hadn't even realized he missed, somehow as reassuring as it was odd. 

He didn't make the connection about the timing until later, when he was working on an assignment in his room when the bell rang and his father answered the door only to call up the stairs to him, sounding surprised. 

Kaname came out, confused, to see Natsume standing in his doorway, sweating a little from the long walk to his house, and smiling at him a little nervously. 

"Natsume?" 

"Hey, Tanuma," Natsume said, and smiled. "Surprise? Happy birthday." 

Kaname could feel himself grinning, incredulous and little amused that Natsume seemed so innocently unsure of himself. "Yeah, it's a surprise! What are you doing here? Come in, I'll get tea." 

"I can't stay too long," Natsume said, turning in the doorway to peek out the door before toeing out of his shoes. "I actually need to ask you something." 

"Yeah?" Kaname stepped out of the way as Natsume stepped inside, seemingly comfortable enough folding down into a sitting position at their living room table. It was nice to see Natsume so comfortable when it had been a while since his last visit, even if it was probably because he was already distracted. 

"Yeah," Natsume said. "Look, Sensei clued me in to a...thing that's going to happen tonight. If you want to go, that is." 

"A thing?"

"Yeah." Even after all this time, Natsume's eyes still did a nervous little flicker sometimes before admitting certain things out loud. "A...youkai thing." 

Kaname was immediately more interested than he let himself sound. "Okay," he prompted, hoping Natsume would explain further. 

"It's a festival," Natsume said. "And I talked to Natori, and, well...I can get you in. If you want to go. It...it's supposed to be good luck, I heard." 

Kaname stared. "Yeah," he managed. "Yeah, I'd love to."

"O-okay." Natsume seemed a little taken aback by his enthusiasm. "Because, like...okay, I swear it should be safe, I'd never offer if I thought it wasn't, but like, it _is_ youkai so I can't make any promises. You should probably ask your dad, too. You know, to be on the safe side."

Kaname resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Look, I've just turned twenty—"

"You were born in the evening, right?" Ponta piped up from where he was sitting next to Natsume. "So you aren't yet, even if you will be when you get back." 

Kaname stared at him, perplexed. "Does that make a difference?" 

"It might." Natsume admitted, "but mostly it'd make me feel better. I'd make it a condition for taking you, but it's more for my sake than it is for yours, so this is me asking. Please?" 

Kaname sighed. "Okay, hang on." 

And he called his dad into the room. Thankfully, he'd had adapted to Natsume's area of expertise from the very beginning, and he listened very seriously as Natsume laid out what he was planning to do. It was some sort of youkai harvest festival, one that apparently promised to be full of friendly and cheerful spirits, and there were blessings to be won that could benefit humans as well as youkai. 

"It shouldn't hurt him," Natsume said, after explaining the basics. "If it shows any signs of being dangerous, then I'll get him out right away. But I actually think there's a chance it might help him." 

"Help?" Kaname's father asked, saving Kaname the trouble. 

"Yeah." Natsume shrugged. "I don't know exactly what kind of blessings are involved, but I'm going to do more research if we do get our hands on one." 

His father nodded slowly. "I see." 

Kaname made sure not to grin too obviously. Over the years, he'd developed a decent sense of when his father was actually unsure about something and when he was only pausing to make it seem like he knew what he was talking about, before agreeing with something else. This response seemed very much like the latter, and sure enough it only took a moment for him to smile. "Well, why not? Be careful. I trust both of you to be responsible, though; there are many worse things people can do on the day they come of age."

Kaname snorted; messing around with spiritual rituals was, by far, the likeliest kind of trouble for him _or_ Natsume to get into. He still promised sincerely, though, and his father ruffled his hair and wished him good luck. "Wake me up when you get home," he said. "I don't care how late it is." 

That precaution seemed to reassure Natsume. "It shouldn't be too late," he said. "The festival ends at sunset, so we'll be back not too long after that." 

"You have good friends, Kaname," his dad told him, and then peered out the window. The sky was still a deep blue, the cicadas just starting to come down from their afternoon crescendo. "You'd better get going, if it's over by sunset. Good luck." 

"Thanks, dad," Kaname said, and turned to Natsume. "What do I need?" 

Natsume looked him over. "I think you'll be fine with what you're wearing, so that's it. I brought what we need for masks." 

Kaname didn't put too much thought into his mask design; he drew the character that Natsume told him, tongue between the tip of his teeth as he tried to balance out the strokes, and smiled at Natsume's familiar "eye" character. He tied it around his head and blinked against the faintly rough, translucent paper obscuring his vision. 

"Good to go?" Natsume asked. "Make sure it's tied on tight, we'll probably be moving around a lot." 

"Got it." Privately, he thought Natsume was worrying too much, but it was a practical warning nonetheless, as well as an interesting hint as to what they'd be doing. And then Natsume glanced at his watch, winced, and starting pushing Kaname out the door and into the woods. Ponta was waiting at his front gate, grumbling imperiously even as he led them into the woods outside Kaname's house. 

They walked quickly for maybe fifteen minutes, eating up the uneven terrain, before Natsume pulled them aside into a clearing and brought out a notebook—a small one, maybe hand-sized, with notes scribbled in pencil. As Tanuma watched, he pulled out slim rod out of his pocket, drew a circle in the dirt, scribbled a few symbols at strategic angles, and then squinted down at it before looking over at Ponta. "What do you think, Sensei?"

Instead of answering, Ponta stepped into the circle and vanished. Kaname's mouth was still open in shock when his head appeared again, a second later. "Not bad, now hurry up," he said, voice echoing just slightly strangely. "It's about to start. I'll keep watch to make sure no one sees you get in." 

"Okay," Natsume said, turning to Kaname and smiling. He was nervous, but Kaname could only tell because of how long he'd known him; his smile was a little bit too small for the level of excitement sparkling in his eyes, and the skin around them was a little too tight. "Ready?" 

Kaname's heart was pounding, but the pride and appreciation he felt for Natsume in that moment helped drown out the worst of it. "Let's go." 

Following Natsume's lead, he stepped into the circle. The world wavered around him for a split second, and he stumbled as the ground seemed to move under his feet. They were suddenly in a different part of the forest; it mostly looked the same, but all the trees around them had moved, and there was a sense of...difference around it. Kaname's head swam for a moment as he adjusted, and before long he picked out the sound of voices coming from somewhere ahead. 

"Are you feeling okay?" Natsume asked, taking his elbow. He peeked at Kaname from the side of his mask, concerned. 

Kaname blinked, and nodded. The mask actually helped a bit, helping to limit the colors that his eyes kept insisting were brighter than they should be in the late afternoon light. "Yeah, I'm fine." 

Natsume grinned. "Okay, good. In that case, are you ready? Don't tell anyone you're human, and let me or Sensei do the talking if anything happens. Speaking of which, Sensei?" 

"Yeah, yeah," Ponta grumbled, and a second later, there was no more round, fluffy cat. Instead, there were a few small, shrill cries of surprise as Ponta's true form was suddenly filling much of the clearing. Natsume set a hand on his side, scritching absently absently at his fur, and then Ponta huffed at them both and headed off. 

One of the many nice things about having a big, powerful spirit at your side was that even though many more youkai were looking their way than they had been a second ago, very few of them seemed to notice that Kaname or Natsume were there at all. Instead, their attention was all on Ponta—or Madara, Kaname supposed. It wasn't the first time he'd seen Ponta's full form, or at least part of it, but every time he saw it he had to remember all over again how _big_ he was. 

Before he knew it, they were surrounded by youkai on every side, all of them streaming forward towards an unknown location. He drew closer to Madara's side, staying half a step behind Natsume. Every dozen steps or so, he caught the flash of Natsume's golden eyes behind his mask, checking on him to make sure he was still there and okay. It was a little embarrassing, but equally reassuring. Kaname smiled back every time, at least when he wasn't distracted by staring all around them. 

The cicadas were louder here than they'd been at Kaname's house, drowning out all the sounds of footsteps and many of the voices. Instead, he just heard lively murmurs interspersed with laughter, growing louder as they drew into the main meeting area. 

He realized, suddenly, that they were in a clearing a little too large to be explained by nature; he thought he saw signs of old garden beds, long since gone to seed and left to the mercy of the elements. It was hard to tell, though, because almost every inch was covered in spirits. He narrowly avoided on tripping on a few minor spirits once or twice, so he tried to get very careful about where to put his feet, but it was hard. There was just so much to look at. 

That didn't stop when a long, sinuous, feathery youkai—almost cranelike, but without wings—slithered in among the branches of a tree and shrieked down at the rest of them for silence. Kaname stared up at it, eyes wide. 

"All right, everyone! You know the rules! Find a First Leaf, and receive a blessing for the current harvest! Ready?" 

There were cries of agreement all through the crowd. 

"First leaf?" Natsume hissed to Madara. 

"Red or gold," Madara rumbled quietly back. "You'll know one when you see it. At least there's not just one this time. I assume you'll be riding me?" 

"Yes, please," Natsume said, like it was no big deal. He turned to Kaname with a grin. "Hang on tight!"

Kaname opened his mouth to answer, and then a high, melodic birdlike call echoed through the clearing and everything exploded into motion. He got two solid handfuls of fur in time for Madara to launch himself into the air; in front of him, Natsume clambered onto his bodyguard's back with practiced grace and then reached out to him to help him find his seat. They started shooting in the direction of the setting sun, before Madara found a spot to break through the canopy of trees. 

Once he did, he glared over his shoulder at Natsume, who was whooping with a mixture of surprise and laughter. "I'm not helping you cheat this time, brat! You've got to find it on your own!" 

"Understood, sensei!" Natsume said, sharing a glance with Kaname, who was still too breathless from the suddenness of their flight to say a word. It seemed pretty obvious that they were already getting a pretty substantial boost, but if Natsume thought it wisest not to mention it, Kaname was happy to follow his lead. "Go that way, then." 

Madara blinked at him in assent before winding through the trees in the direction Natsume was pointing. Kaname thought he heard a grumble about " _spiritual senses getting better, finally, wish he'd use it for something_ practical..." He tucked that particular tidbit of knowledge away for later, and focused on scanning the branches as they whipped by, hoping against hope for a glimpse of true gold among the leaves. 

They were far from the only entities searching from the air, and Kaname tried to make himself look down at the foliage instead of at all the flying youkai—and their passengers. Instead, he strained his eyes, looking down at countless green leaves, and the occasional bird or insect. 

Kaname stared at the dozens of trees, all with their leaves a too-bright emerald green in the dying light. They were all limned in gold from the light whenever it hit their edges, but...this place looked like it was still at the height of summer. Were there really any autumn leaves to find? 

At one point they heard a triumphant yell from the next clearing over, and after that the number of youkai searching where they were grew thinner. Natsume didn't seem daunted by this, though; he just leaned closer against Madara's back, squinting down at the trees below. 

Then, a breeze tickled Kaname's cheek, notably cool, like a curl of air from a freezer opened across the room. He turned his head, following the sensation. He thought he caught a glimpse, and was shouting before he could think, lifting a reckless hand from his grip on Madara so he could point. "There!" 

Beside him, Natsume stiffened and yelled, "Sensei!" 

They swooped downward, darting between branches, and the force of the air and branches whistling past them made it hard for Kaname to even keep his eyes open, much less keep track of the glint below them. Not many youkai seemed to be following them, and the ones that were didn't have much hope of catching up. Indeed, they were moving so fast that Kaname was sure they must be almost on top of it, if they hadn't overshot it—

He was turning to check behind him when he saw it again: a glint of impossible, deep gold. He tugged as close to Madara's ruff as he could reach, and he immediately went slowed down and pivoted, following Kaname's signal. 

There was just enough space around the ginkgo tree that Madara was able to come to a floating stop beside it, at the perfect level for Kaname to reach out and cup the single, bifurcated golden leaf in one hand. 

"You found it!" Natsume said, sounding delighted. He grabbed Kaname's shoulder and shook it, then threw an arm over his shoulder, leaning close to get a look at the leaf that Kaname was holding gingerly between his fingers. 

Madara's triumphant roar shook the tree to its roots, and brought the crane youkai over, where it looked over the leaf approvingly. It dispatched a few lesser youkai to mark the tree somehow, but before Kaname could get a good look at what they were doing, it drew close. Its eye was a molten gold, almost on fire, and it was staring straight at him. 

Kaname gulped behind his mask, but it gently severed the leaf from its stem with its beak, not even touching him as it drew back its head. "Congratulations, human," it whispered, and its eye looked as though it was smiling. "May the blessing bring you luck. Keep it close, and remember what this world has given you." 

Natsume's breath hissed between his teeth, but he gave Kaname an encouraging nudge. "I will," Kaname answered honestly. He can't imagine forgetting what he owed to this world, not with the biggest blessing of all right behind him, their hearts pounding in tandem. 

The youkai clacked its beak, looking satisfied. "Very good," it said. Another cry went up, further into the trees, and it snaked off without another word. 

Natsume let out a breath, slumping against Tanuma. "That was closer than I'd like," he said. 

"Yes, well," Madara said. "He still smells, you know. Even worse than you do." 

"He doesn't mean it," Natsume mumbled automatically into Kaname's shoulder. "You smell fine." 

Kaname chuckled, though he was grateful Natsume couldn't see the blush that rose to his face. "Thanks." 

"I meant—" Natsume straightened, sounding embarrassed, but Kaname was still laughing. "Oh, shut up. Sensei, you can let us down now." 

Madara touched down to the ground, and then poofed into his cat form, hopping up onto Kaname's shoulder. Kaname held up the leaf for his inspection; it seemed lighter than it should be, smooth and cool against his fingers. "That's a good one," he said approvingly. "Hold onto that, and maybe you won't be quite as much of a magnet for trouble the next few years. 

"I've been practicing making charms," Natsume offered, a little awkward. "If you want, I can try to preserve it for you." 

Kaname grinned. "That'd be great! Thanks." 

He kept the leaf in his hand as they headed on foot back to the clearing from before. There were already preparations underway for the feast after the ceremony, and there were maybe a dozen small knots of youkai in different places, gathered around the people who'd successfully found the first leaves of autumn. 

They gathered a few admirers of their own, and Kaname had, once again, the slightly awkward experience of an actual conversation with youkai. Natsume helped, of course, and Ponta stepped in whenever anyone got a little too enthusiastic or Kaname was lost for a response. As always, it was more than a little surreal, but mostly amazing. Kaname couldn't stop smiling, even when he was completely out of his depth. 

Overhead, though, the sky had begun to darken, turning pink in the west. The crane youkai called for silence again, and it fell remarkably quickly. Food and drinks had started to appear throughout the ancient garden, but no one seemed to be eating yet; they all waited, rapt, as the crane began to speak. 

"We celebrate this, the last new moon before the days start to shorten, to open our arms for the bounty that has been prepared for us. Those of you who have received the blessings of autumn, be prepared for the many blessings that nature will bring. Remember to share them wisely and well, with friend or foe. Hold on to the good things, and stay strong when the hard times come. Give thanks for luck, and hold on to joy, no matter what comes." 

Kaname could swear that for a second, its eyes landed on him, and he found himself nodding, ever so slightly. 

The youkai threw its head back. "And now," it finished, laughing, "we celebrate! Drink up, everyone!" 

Ponta immediately dove off Kaname's shoulder and into the nearest knot of youkai, yelling for a cup and bottle. Natsume sighed and leaned close to Kaname. "That's our cue to leave, I think," he said. "Come with me?" 

Kaname followed Natsume back the way they'd come, through the trees in the fading light. At one point, he thought he saw someone following them, but Natsume only stepped between him and the youkai who'd been following and shooed them off. The cow-head was pretty distinctive, as was the slightly rueful "Natsume-samaaa" fading back the way they'd come. 

Natsume rolled his eyes. "One night, I ask for," he said, annoyed but amused, and Kaname laughed in sympathy. "At least we can be pretty sure no one else followed us. Here, make sure no one's coming, okay?" 

Kaname kept lookout while Natsume drew another circle, then took his hand. "Okay, we're going back. Ready?" 

Natsume's hand was warm against his. Tanuma felt himself blushing again, but hopefully the pinkish light of dusk would help hide it. "Ready." 

"Good." Natsume nudged him. "You first this time." 

Kaname stepped through the circle. If anything, it was an even smoother trip than last time, though it was abruptly slightly darker than it had been before. He kept moving, stepping out of the circle, and a second later Natsume was there too, smudging out the circle carefully with his foot. 

"Still okay?" he asked. 

"Yeah," Kaname said. "Yeah, I'm good. Natsume..." 

Natsume stood before him, looking a little surprised. "Yeah?" 

"I..." Kaname bit his lip. "That was amazing. I can't begin to thank you." 

Natsume smiled, looking shyly pleased with himself. "I'm glad you like it," he said, voice soft. "Happy birthday, Tanuma." 

They returned to Kaname's house, and Natsume spent the night, the two of them whispering to each other in Kaname's room for hours in the dark. It was like they were high schoolers again, both of them pretending that Natsume didn't have to head back to school on the first train in the morning. When they woke up, painfully early for them both, Kaname helped Natsume stumble through packing. They both mocked Ponta mercilessly when he stumbled onto Kaname's doorstep, looking more than a little hungover. 

Still riding the high of the night before, Kaname mustered the courage to pull Natsume into a one-armed hug before he left. Natsume smiled and returns the gesture, bumping their heads gently together, and promises to come back soon with the finished charm. Kaname's heart swelled; he felt blessed in more ways than one. 

Within a few weeks, Natsume finished the charm and brought it back. Even in the human world, the leaf looked almost metallic whenever it caught the light, pressed and delicate and lined in sturdy card stock and bright fabrics. Tanuma carried it with him everywhere he went from that day on, a reminder of strength and protection and kind, golden eyes. 

**Author's Note:**

> General story notes:  
> \- Tanuma's birthday is September 17th, which was actually a new moon this year. I don't know how moon phases and stuff really work, so more fudging happened here, haha. But hopefully it works.
> 
> \- I made the whole "Day of blessings" thing up. As far as I know, a lot of youkai things are made up in canon, so hopefully that won't hinder anybody's reading experience, but if I've managed to put in something offensive, please let me know and I'll do my best to fix the problem. 
> 
> \- For the record, September is still Very Much Summer in a lot of southern Japan. It's one of the hottest months in the year in Kansai, and the best time to see autumn leaves in Kyushu seems to be in November or even December on average, so finding the first autumn leaf in September would probably be quite the supernatural sign indeed.
> 
> \- Apparently ginkgo trees are relatively commonly grown in temples, and they're symbols of both longevity and endurance. 
> 
> \- The character I imagine Tanuma putting on his mask is 誕, the first character in the word "birthday" ( _tanjoubi_ ). This is just to be cute, since it matches his first name and he's the birthday boy.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
